Eight Brothers Fiancee (Love by Numbers 7)

Once we were safely inside the club, Huxley turned and looked back at me with a sharp grin. “We killed it back at Del’s. I’m gonna go get Alexa a drink.” I grabbed his arm and he backed up. “What?”

“Maybe we shouldn’t.” I looked at Alexa laughing with Delvin and Maverick, shaking hands and making nice with the new artist. I definitely didn’t want to mess it up. “With Alexa. Not just yet.”

“What?” Huxley huffed. “Have you lost your mind?”

“Did you see the way she was looking at Delvin? What if that happens to us? We won’t get another chance,” I explained.

“That won’t happen to us. I saw the way she looked at Delvin and I also saw the way she looked at us. I thought she was gonna start stripping right there.”

“Maybe, but I want to be sure. We finally have a chance with her. Do you want to fuck it up?” I asked.

Huxley pondered it, his lips pursing in frustration. “No, but…” He let out a deep sigh. “Then what the fuck are we doing here?”

“Let’s just spend some time with her, get to know her,” I said. “It’ll be better.”

Huxley shook his head. “All this Malia shit is messing with your head.” He looked at me, but when he saw that I wasn’t going to bend, he let out a groan. “Fine.”

“Thanks.” I walked up to where Delvin, Maverick, Alexa, and the new artist were standing and held out my hand. “Harley.”

The artist took my hand and shook it. “Kaine.”

He was dressed in a leather jacket and pants, all of it covered in chains, safety pins, and different sized metal rings. Delvin and Maverick told me that the guy was a rapper, but he looked more like the head singer in a punk band.

Huxley came up and stood next to me. “Huxley.” He didn’t extend a hand. He was a good businessman, but sometimes he was childish when it came to professionalism. “So, when do you go on?”

“My set starts in about ten,” he responded with an urban drawl to his voice. He looked over at Alexa and grinned, revealing a sparkling set of jewel encrusted teeth coverings. “Which one of ya brought the pretty lady?”

“Oh, uh, I work for the Foxxes,” Alexa responded.

“Word?” he said, moving a bit closer. “Maybe you wanna come on stage with me.”

“No,” all four of us brothers resounded in unison.

Kaine held up his hands and stepped back. “Aight, I got it.” He gave Delvin a high five and then sauntered his way out of VIP and over towards the stage.

Maverick held up a hand. “Alright, don’t worry about how he acts, just wait for his music.”

The four of us sat down at a table in the VIP section and a few minutes later a waitress brought over some drinks. Alexa took one, and I saw Huxley eye her enticingly, but I shot him a glare and he looked away. Alexa pulled out her phone and set it on top of the table, initiating the record feature.

Delvin looked at it and raised an eyebrow. “I have a copy of everything he’s performing if you want it,” he offered.

“I imagined, but I like having the live sound bites when I write. It helps me recall the experience. Auditory memory.”

Delvin and Maverick’s lips both curved into matching smiles. They loved a girl who could talk music.

“I can’t wait to see what you come up with,” Maverick said. “Any first impressions?”

“Yeah,” Alexa said. “Based on his look, he could rock a BDSM club.”

Maverick let out a laugh. “Keaton heard his demo and loved it.” Alexa’s jaw dropped and we all laughed. “Don’t look so surprised. Under that whole ‘surfer dude’ look, he’s got lots of layers. We all do.”

Alexa smiled pensively, looking around at all of us. “Rogan said something similar to me once. You Foxxes like hiding your true selves, don’t you?”

Maverick leaned across the table, bringing himself much closer to Alexa. “We only give the goods away to those who have earned it.” He winked at her and settled back into his seat, and to my surprise, a light blush made its way to Alexa’s face.

After another few minutes, Kaine’s set finally started. His set up was a full garage band, but he was holding the mic, jumping around the stage, rapping. All of his lyrics were embroiled with sexual innuendos and the exploitation of women. I started taking a sip of my drink every single time he used the word ‘hoe,’ ‘slut,’ or ‘bitch’ until I was on the verge of being drunk and decided I shouldn’t play anymore.

Delvin and Maverick got up from the table eventually and moved down to the main floor. They were partiers at heart and liked being amidst the crowd. Huxley tuned out entirely and was playing a mindless game on his phone, and Alexa had her nose crinkled up like she was smelling a dead body.